Lucia & The Best Boys – 'Burning Castles' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Butterflies 2. When You Dress Up 3. So Sweet I Could Die 4. Angels Cry Too 5. Care 6. Love Yourself 7. Burning Castles 8. Hurt Somebody You Love 9. Haunt You Back 10. Waiting On You Now 11. Favourite Thing To Lose

Scotland’s Lucia & The Best Boys have finally released their debut album, 'Burning Castles', which has been a long time coming. So is it worth the wait? Read on and you’ll find out.

The album launch party was at the very atmospheric setting of Dundonald Castle, the kind of setting that was just perfect for such an atmospheric album. It’s full of sweeping soundscapes, electronic and rock sounds merge to create a beautiful indie rock statement of empowerment and defiance with a tender side that just makes you want to listen more and more, interestingly though you can already tell this is a band who are not going to be contained by genres.

I was lucky enough to see the band play Kendal Calling in 2022 and have been waiting patiently for new music since then, this really doesn’t disappoint. They were one of the best acts of the festival in my opinion and this just builds on that experience.

The arrangements are perfect, the vocals spot on and the lyrics sound lovely at first but then creep into your subconscious and you really listen, there is a really dark side to this band but, it’s in a very empowering way (second time I’ve used that word but it’s the word that I took away most from this album), for me it’s about strong individuals and how they deal with the situations they find themselves in.

What else is really impressive about this album though is the fragility that weaves through the music and the singing, it makes you feel that while this is a strong statement there is a degree of front going on as well as there is a degree of insecurity lurking in the background, it’s perfect for soundtracking most peoples lives, most of us are capable of being confident in some situations while second guessing ourselves internally.

I often when I’m reviewing listen for influences, how the band sound like, where they fit. Then there are bands like this who don’t sound like anything else, who are ploughing their own furrow, who make you think you can detect parts of other bands, other peoples sounds but you stop caring, you just immerse yourself in what you’re listening to and enjoy it for what it is, beautiful music.

This is a band that have hinted at the potential for greatness in the past, with this album they’ve finally shown just how good they can be, how good is that? Well go download or buy the album and you’ll find out.

Is it time for you to realise just how good Lucia & The Best Boys are? Absolutely! Once you hear this you’ll wonder why you where they’ve been all your life, it’s time for your obsession to start!

Is there a best track? A standout? Honestly there isn’t, it’s all of such a high standard that you will find yourself struggling to pick your favourite, it’s rare these days to have such a consistently good album that reaffirms your belief in music and just how much it can make you feel.

Lucia & The Best Boys are touring in November, I’m gutted I can’t make any of the dates as I know how good they are on stage and this album is going to sound immense live. If you do one thing today to improve your life go buy a ticket, you really won’t regret it.